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Politics of Los Ochentas
The Democracy of Los Ochentas is a syndicative direct democracy with elements of a directorial system in the form of governance. There is no single formal body of government throughout the nation, instead the power to create and enforce law is left to the individual cliques which are located throughout the nation. The cliques maintain, administer, and enforce a series of governmental codes which allow for the functioning of the nation as a single society, but allows for maximization of personal freedom and voice. To exist as a clique, a group of people must be able to pay a clique tax and protect themselves under the law and in the event of foreign attack. The clique tax promotes a series of governmental directorates which are the closest system to a formal government which Los Ochentas maintains. Governmental directorates operate in the areas of diplomacy, education, health and fire, transportation, utilities, and culture. Los Ochentas is a politically stable country, with high personal freedoms due to the lack of codified law. The nation is so free, that in some cliques murder can be justified based on the motive. The large amount of personal freedoms has resulted in a highly relaxed public which enjoys full control of their lives and their laws based upon the direct democracy system that the cliques serve as apart of. There is a distinct lack of political alignment within the country, and the majority of objective organizations have called the nation a neutral, liberal country with little concern for long distance affairs. Government The majority of Ochentans do not associate the political bodies in the nation as a government, instead as a collection of pseudo-authority holding organizations which assist in the areas of diplomacy, infrastructure, welfare, and culture. The power to govern does not rest inside those organizations, rather, political power is invested by governmental code into the cliques. The cliques are then legitimized through their payment of a tax to support the organizations, or, directorates, and by their ability to insure stability, defense, and justice over a group of people. In operation, cliques are social groups which use a two step voting method to amend governmental code, the first step being the support inside the clique, and the second being the support of other cliques across the nation. Governmental code is purely for the structuring of the clique system and the general management of the directorates, with only a few laws actually dictating the lives of the citizens. Essentially, in the form of a direct democracy, Los Ochentas is not exacted ruled by any single government-like body, and the people of the country rule themselves through sociopolitical groups known as cliques, which in turn govern the authority-bodies made to help citizens known as directorates. Governmental code The "government" system of Los Ochentas is codified within the nation's governmental code, which is in essence the closest thing the nation has to a constitution. All functions of the directorates and the cliques are outlined in the governmental code, though, the powers not delegated to directorates through amendments or originalities within governmental code are then left to individual private entities. Therefore, the cliques and the directorates are limited in their power to govern only by powers directly granted to those governmental bodies, allowing for the Ochentan public a large amount of freedoms which are left noncodified by the governmental code. The code has three contexts which adhere to specific parts of the nation's political spectrum. The first context is the powers which are granted to the cliques and directorates, the second is the implications upon the actions of citizens and their effects on other citizens, and the third is the processes of justice which the cliques must make in relations to the actions of citizens which interfere with either stability or the general welfare of the public. Cliques Political power in the government system of Los Ochentas is largely derived from the groupings of citizens known as cliques. Cliques are a collection of people who are related to one another through similar interests or family ties. Much like organized criminal gangs in the United States, once a person joins a clique, they are considered to be like family towards one another, and a strong sense of community is found within individual cliques. Cliques are not limited to similar interests, and can be made up for many different reasons, the largest and most prominent reasons being locality and interests. The purpose of cliques in the government system is to insure equality and the maximization of individual voices in the process of code amendment. They are also vital in the insurance of stability within the populace, each clique is responsible for the maintenance of individual territories as to keep a certain sense of limited order among that region's population. While some critics have stated that the clique system could lead to social fragmentation on a national scale, the cliques actually are required to unify in times of national emergency or foreign attack. The nation's governmental code requires all cliques to act collectively as a single organization, and cliques which refuse to in desperate situation are no longer included in the process of governmental decision. This hard-line approach to cliques ultimately as lead to the creation of inter-clique organizations which react in times of emergency, and these associations are only associated with scenarios that would lead to a national response and have no other governmental powers. Directorates The primary source of authority within the dealings of politics in Los Ochentas is largely managed by existing governmental organizations known as directorates. These organizations serve to ease and assist the lives of citizens in matters that should be fully provided and promoted by the small, limited government, most specifically in services, culture, and infrastructure. There are six directorates within the nation's limited government, each serving a specific part of the state which is deemed vital to the overall success and stability of the nation. Otherwise, no actual formal, publicly funded governmental organizations exist to create an authority of a sort over the population. All authority in the directorates is derived from both governmental code and the rulings of the cliques over certain issues, further limiting the actual political authority of the directorates themselves. The directorates are supported by a tax system which allows cliques to be recognized domestically as legitimate sociopolitical organizational systems, and the tax is upon the clique as a whole rather than individuals within the nation. This system of group tax has eliminated most citizen's direct contact with the nation's "government", and creates an extremely stateless society which functions without the intervention of authority holding powers. Political views The majority of Ochentans share a common viewpoint on the necessity of a formally organized, authority-wielding government: that it can only eventually result in a system which both strays from its original purpose and which has an extremely low approval rating. In result, the nation's populace is overall non-accepting of orderly, official state bodies which exercise a large amount of power over the people. Instead, many favor simply eliminating a government of that magnitude, and living in a free society which is governed by themselves and other peoples. This political system is known internationally as a Demosyndocracy, and it is present in the nation's current governmental system of cliques and directorates. The clique-directorate system has an overall approval rating of 96%, and its success is considered to make it the most effective relative system of governance which is compatible with the cultural and social values of the country. Ochentan political values are largely invested in the trump of individual freedoms over individual control, and any attempts to form an organized governmental structure that creates an orderly grouping of political bodies has been generally ill-received by the nation's politically active population. Only around 45% of the population admits to actively participating within their respective cliques on governmental matters, and their voice is largely represented by politically active persons who are close to them in relation or in friendship. A commonly encountered viewpoint among the population is that life is too erratic and mysterious to constantly live in worry of political changes, and thus the clique system allows for an extremely high amount of personal freedom while also providing adequate levels of security and governmental service. Social policies *'Abortion and contraception': The majority of the population is mixed on the usage of contraception for reasons of pleasure or protection, while the vast majority supports the woman's choice to abortions. There is no government standard regulating these practices. Abortions are freely provided under universal healthcare regardless of maternal stage or reason. *'Age of adulthood': There is no official age of adulthood within the country, the age at which a resident may consume psychoactive materials, operate vehicles, consent to sexual activity, and participate in clique politics is undefined. The most common age at which parents allow for their children to participate in most of these activities is largely based around the time of that specific child's age of puberty, normally from 12 to 14 years of age. *'Death penalty and justice': The vast majority of the populace supports the clique's policies of acting when someone has faced a wrongdoing, highlighting the acceptance and awareness of criminals in society. The death penalty is largely reserved to consistently violent or dangerous individuals, though its usage in the justice system is a well established punishment. The focus of justice is the punishment of the criminal, and thus community service and forced labor are common features within the punishment of individuals proven guilty by the clique. *'Disabilities': The majority of the population is extremely accepting of persons with physical or mental disabilities. Special education and services are provided to children within the educational system with disabilities, and most planning takes persons with physical disabilities into account. *'Environment': A large portion of the population is environmentally aware of global changes, and supports movements to introduce greener methods of living. Recycling and renewable energy sources are explored by the Directorate of Utilities, and the few regulations on industries in the country that exist serve primarily to protect the environment. *'Firearms': No regulations exist on the ownership and operation of firearms, and individual cliques are left with the responsibility of insuring the defense and safety of their peoples. *'Lesbians, Gays, Transgenders, Bisexuals, and Queers': The entirety of the population is accepting of LGBTQ persons. No official forms of civil marriage exist for any form of couple, and by default same-sex marriage is thus accepted but not recognized by the government, as no marriages are recognized by the government. All persons enjoy equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation. *'Prostitution': No regulations exist in governmental code prohibiting the commercialization of sexual practices, and prostitution is a widely organized and well respected occupation within the country. Sex trafficking is also extremely low within the nation, as there is a large prostitution workforce and relatively small criminal activity surrounding the occupation. The majority of the population does not have a negative opinion on prostitution, seeing it as just another occupation which services the populace. *'Recreational drug usage': No laws prohibit the manufacturing, distribution, and ownership of recreational psychoactive materials. Their usage is widespread throughout the population, and the majority of people in the country admit to not desire any form of prohibition against their usage. Los Ochentas is one of the world's largest centers of drug distribution, and as a result several international bodies have maintained only limited trade with the country. Despite these economic repercussions, the population is generally uncaring of outside views on its actions. *'Religion': As no laws prohibit the practicing of any religion, total freedom of religion exists within the nation. However, a vast majority of the populace is irreligious, and many do not recognize religion as a vital part of society. *'Sexuality': The extremely large majority of the population is lewd and open about their sexual and personal desires. The country as a whole is considered to have the most sex-obsessed population in the world, and cultural values within the country are heavily focused on sexual and lewd conduct. Economic policies *'Environmental regulations': Many of the few economic regulations that are stated in the governmental code are based around the protection of the environment. The Directorates of Utilities and Transportation are both bound by the code to constantly attempt to keep up with more environmental practices of their traditionally heavy polluting services. Several industrial practices are also banned within the country under the regulations, and atomic-based energy and other developments which contribute an unusual amount of radioactivity are also banned from domestic operation. *'Foreign regulations': The remaining economic regulations stated in the governmental code are based upon policies of interventionism and protectionism which allow for the maximization of domestic economic growth. Outsourcing to and from the nation is banned under these codes, along with the banned intervention of foreign corporations into the economic practices and conditions endemic to the archipelago which may face exploitation. Management of foreign trade is also a responsibility of the cliques, though no black market activity is present on the islands as no black market items existing on the island are particularly singled out as illegal. Category:Los Ochentas Category:Politics Category:Government